Like a Falling Star
by S.RAYN
Summary: After a blizzard, Yuu's finally able to go outside again, he encounters a young vampire in the snow and a brief, but strong friendship is formed.


Like a Falling Star

* * *

Yuu stomps through the snow, cheeks red and wind burned, but too excited about being outside to care. Guren hasn't let him outside in days because of the blizzard and now that it's died down, there's inches of snow just waiting for him to play in. Though, it'd be better if he had a playmate. Even Shinya won't come outside with him, preferring to stay inside and drink cider with Guren. Yuu thinks Shinya would have had enough of him after all those days inside together, but apparently not.

He rubs his cheeks to add warmth to them, looking out over the snow covered landscape and wondering what he should do first. He would like to build a snow fort, but that's too hard to do alone, so a snowman it is.

Yuu's rolling the second snowball when he catches sight of something yellow farther away near the trees. His first thought is someone peed a lot in the snow, but that can't be right, no one else is out here. It's also too early for flowers. Yuu glances back to the house to make sure they're not watching, Shinya did tell him to stay close after all. After making sure he's in the clear, Yuu takes off towards the sight.

He comes to an abrupt halt when he realizes it's another kid crouched in the snow. He's dressed in almost all white with his head bowed, only the top of his small blonde head showing. Yuu hesitates, he's not sure how warm that cloak is and he's afraid to approach him in case he's dead, he didn't even look up when Yuu approached.

"Uh...are you dead?" He receives no response. "Are you?" You reaches out to prod the kid in the shoulder, only to have him jerk away.

Yuu jumps back when angry blue eyes with slitted pupils glare at him, "If I was dead, I wouldn't answer."

"Y-you're a v-vampire."

"Yes."

He turns and races back home, not stopping until he's back in front of his house, hunched down behind his half finished snowman. Guren's warned him about vampires, they're dangerous and they can drink a human dry, so he's supposed to stay away from them at all costs. What's it doing out here alone? Maybe it's family is around? He should stay close to home just in case, his mind whirls a mile a minute deciding what to do.

Although, despite knowing the danger, he can't quite quell his curiosity and he finds himself sneakily making his way back towards the area, crouching behind a tree to see if it's still there or if it's family has come.

He's so focused on scanning the area without being seen that he misses the crunch of snow beside him. It isn't until he's glancing back towards his house that he notices the vampire is standing over him, Yuu lets out a scream and falls backwards, frantically scooting away.

They're in a stare off when Yuu finally asks, "Are you going to kill me?"

"Yes." He wastes no time in letting out the loudest scream he can muster, knowing that it's already too late and he was right. The vampire quickly muffles his scream with a hand to the mouth, "I'm not. If I wanted to kill you, I would have already."

The minute it pulls away, Yuu grabs a bunch of snow, the only weapon he has and throws it in defense. He watches the vampire dodge and disappear back into the trees. He lets out a sigh of relief before running back down the hill, losing his footing, and rolling to a stop at the base.

He lays there, thinking about how close he came to dying. He should never have gone up there, but then again it said it wasn't planning to kill him, it could have numerous times by now. He should just go back home, only...this vampire didn't seem too dangerous now that he thought about it.

In fact, it was all alone in the snow and it could be freezing to death out here, the vampire hadn't been moving when Yuu first arrived, nor did it chase after him after everything. It looks about his age, maybe the vampire needs help, Shinya does always tell him to be nicer to people. Plus if he helps it, maybe it'll leave and won't bring it's family back to kill them all.

Yuu slowly creeps back towards the trees, certain in the logic of his thinking, but the vampire's spot is empty now and he can't help but feel a little disappointed. "Hey, are you still out there?" Yuu calls. "I didn't mean to attack you, you can come out." He pauses for a second before adding, "I won't hurt you."

He spies a blonde head peeking from behind one of the trees near the edge of the forest and brightens. "You couldn't hurt me even if you tried."

Yuu huffs, "Wanna bet?" He retaliates, his pride overtaking fear for a brief second.

"No."

Yuu deflates, "Are you cold?"

"No."

"Do you have anywhere to go?"

There's a pause. "I don't know the way home."

"So, you're alone?"

"I can still protect myself," he answers defensively.

"I told you I'm not going to hurt you!" Yuu can recognize a bit of himself in the vampire, he rarely ever has anyone to play with. If Guren and Shinya didn't play with him sometimes, he'd probably be by himself all the time too, lonely and defensive about it. He hates it when other kids won't play with him, just because of what they've heard. Maybe… "Do you promise you won't kill me?"

"Killing you wouldn't help me."

He brightens again, "Then come play with me! I need help building a fort. With your super strength, we'll finish in no time!"

"Why should I?"

"Because if you don't, you'll be stuck out here all alone. Plus you'll still be nearby in case your family comes back!" Yuu doesn't flinch under the vampire's suspicious look.

"If you try to hurt me, I'll kill you."

Yuu's grin falters. "I thought you said I couldn't hurt you," he mocks.

"If you try."

"I won't, just come play with me already!" He watches the vampire slowly ease away from the treeline, eyes on Yuu the entire time as if he would bolt from any sudden movement. When he's close enough that Yuu's sure he won't disappear, he starts back towards his yard, glancing back over his shoulder every so often to make sure the vampire is still following. You'd think he was the vampire, the way he's being treated with so much suspicion and wariness. That by itself makes him lower his guard somewhat.

Once he's lured the blonde vampire close enough, Yuu beckons him over and begins making quick work of changing his half finished snowman into a wall. The vampire peers at him from a few feet away. "What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to make the walls for the fort, it would go a lot faster if you would help." Yuu watches the vampire finally resign himself to helping and cheers internally. "What's your name anyway?"

"...Mikaela." Yuu scrunches up his face to comment on his name, but something in Mikaela's gaze makes him second think that and he introduces himself instead. "Yuu? That's a short name."

"It's really Yuuichirou, but that's kind of long."

"Oh."

Yuu observes Mikaela from the corner of his eye as they continue to build, he's a diligent worker and he was right, Mikaela's intensity makes this task go by much faster. But, what really fascinates him is the brightness of the vampire's hair, Yuu's never seen hair that blonde and fluffy before, not even Mitsuba's can compare, and he can't help but want to touch it.

He edges closer as Mikaela's attention is focused on finishing a second wall. Yuu reaches forward, letting just the tips of his fingers brush the vampire's golden strands...and finds himself flat on his back staring up into annoyed blue eyes. "Don't touch me."

"Okay okay," Yuu tries to force Mikaela back. "I won't try to touch your hair anymore."

He glares for a moment longer before pulling back and resuming building as if nothing happened. Touchy vampire, Yuu thinks.

They continue working in silence until all four sides are finished and the only thing left is the roof. "Hey Mikaela, I can't reach the roof."

"I'm the same height as you."

"Yeah, but I can lift you up and you could finish it."

Mikaela frowns, "You'd drop me."

"Even if I did, it's not like it'd hurt you."

"I'll lift you up, but that doesn't mean you can touch my hair."

Yuu rolls his eyes, but agrees. Although he already knows he's going to take full advantage of the situation.

When Mikaela bends down to let Yuu climb onto his shoulders, he makes sure to use the other's head to balance himself, quickly running his fingers through the golden locks and the vampire's hair is just as soft as it looks. Yuu grins at his own sneakiness, despite the painful grip Mikaela uses in response to his actions.

Yuu takes the snow Mikaela is passing up to him and hurriedly smooths the top together to form an enclosed space, he doesn't know how long Mikaela's patience will last, but if it's anything like his, it'll be short. Yuu sits back and observes their handiwork, it's a little lopsided, but solid enough.

"Alright, it's finished."

"Good." Mikaela leans forward and gives Yuu a quick shove, dumping him face first in the snow.

"Argh," Yuu yells on the way down. "What was that for?" He asks in annoyance, shaking snow off him.

"For touching my hair."

Yuu makes a face, "You aren't very nice, are you?"

"I helped you."

"Only so you wouldn't have to be alone." He watches Mikaela bristle in protest and laughs.

"I'm just fine on my own!"

"Yeah, yeah," Yuu pushes him aside and crawls through the entrance, shifting over to make room for the other boy. It's small, but a perfect hideout for him until the snow melts. Well, he guesses it'd have to be Mikaela's hideout too, since he helped build it. Speaking of which, Yuu glances over and catches the eye of his new friend laying next to him. Mikaela doesn't speak to him, but he does seem more comfortable than when Yuu first found him and Yuu's surprised to find that he's lowered his own defenses as well. Mikaela could easily kill him in here, but Yuu doesn't think he would. He has a feeling the other boy doesn't want to be alone anymore than he does.

"How long are you going to lay here?" Mikaela questions him.

"I've been stuck inside for days and I built it, I can stay here as long as I want!"

The blue eyed vampire sighs before unbuckling his cloak and tossing it over Yuu, much to his confusion. "Uh..?"

"You might freeze, you fragile human. Your temperature's already dropping."

"But, now you'll be cold."

"I don't get cold."

"Still, share with me."

"No."

Yuu scoots closer and throws the cloak around both of them, Mikaela grimaces, flashing petite fangs, but doesn't move away. Yuu finds himself close enough that to him it wouldn't be weird to stare and his eyes rake over Mikaela, taking in his pale skin and cherubic features, big cerulean eyes blinking back owlishly.

"You're pretty...like a girl," Yuu comments.

His reaction is instantaneous, he glares back, "Better than being ugly like a troll."

Yuu laughs, "Too bad you're not nice like a girl!" Mika scowls and turns his back to Yuu, the movement shifting his hair to reveal a single pointed ear and Yuu gasps. "Hey! You have pointed ears," he exclaims, reaching for one.

Mikaela moves away to avoid his touch, but he can't go far inside the confined space and Yuu's fingertips close around the tip of his ear to gently rub it. "So weird! Why do you hide them?"

He blushes at Yuu's continued ministrations before smacking his hand away and covering his ears. "I don't hide them, it's not my fault my hair covers them."

Yuu pulls at his hands, "Let me see them!"

"No, you horrible human!"

"If you're not hiding them, move your hands!"

"Yuu! Are you out there? It's time to come in before you freeze!"

He pauses in the middle of grabbing Mikaela's hands, has he been out here that long? If he doesn't go in, Shinya will come out looking for him. "Okay! Give me a second!" He glances over at his companion who's glowering back at him, "Are you going to come inside with me? I promise it's safe."

"I think I'll stay outside in here."

"No way! I already know you don't want to be alone."

"I was already alone."

"Yeah and you were sad too." Yuu pauses, "If you decide you don't want to stay inside, I won't say anything if you leave."

"...okay."

"Great! You can stay in my room." Yuu says, even if he'll have a hard time convincing Guren to allow it. He crawls out of the fort before handing Mikaela his cloak back. It is pretty cold out here after a while, he can't wait to get some hot cider and warm up. "Come on Mikaela!" He yells back at the vampire shuffling a few feet behind him, "I know you have super speed!"

"I'm hurrying."

Yuu sighs impatiently. Weren't vampires supposed to be fast and dangerous? This one's more like a sulky kid. He waits for Mikaela to catch up before placing his hands on his back and pushing him forward, "We'll never get anywhere if I wait for you."

When they finally reach the front door, he's out of breath from fighting Mikaela the whole way and he throws open the door in relief, stepping out of his shoes, then dragging his companion into the living room.

"Who is this?" Guren questions, coming around the corner.

Yuu throws his arms out towards Mikaela and gives Guren a winning smile, "Look Guren, I found a vampire!"

"You...what?" Guren grabs him in a death hold. "What were you thinking?" He asks in irritation, side eyeing Mikaela.

"Hey, let me go!" Yuu wiggles free of Guren's tight grip. "He was alone out there. I couldn't leave him!"

"It can't stay."

He feels Mikaela shift closer to him, grabbing onto the bottom of his shirt and he frowns. "Why not?"

"He could kill us all in our sleep for one."

"Mikaela wouldn't do that!"

"We don't have any blood and it's a vampire, Yuu!"

"So what? And his name is Mikaela."

"Yuu. No."

"But why Guren?" He whines. "He's nice! Well...mostly."

"Yuu, nice or not. It's a vampire, what part of that don't you understand?"

"We've been outside playing and he hasn't hurt me yet!"

"He could turn on you at any minute!"

"He's not a wild animal, Guren," Yuu responds reproachfully. Guren gives him a look, but says nothing.

"Yuu, I'm leaving."

"No!" Yuu reaches around and grabs Mikaela's wrist, "Guren, please," he pleads in desperation. "I promise nothing will happen!"

"Yuu…"

Shinya comes to stand by Guren's side, "Well what do we have here?"

"Shinya," Guren warns.

"Aren't you cute," he says, reaching for Mikaela, but he jerks away dragging Yuu backwards with him.

"Ah sorry, I forgot to mention he doesn't like to be touched," Yuu says bashfully without looking at Guren. He glances back at Mikaela, "That's Shinya, his superpower is getting Guren to say yes to things."

Shinya chuckles at Guren's scowl and brings a hand to his chin, "Yuu always says he wants someone to play with."

"Not a vampire!"

"You always tell me to be nicer to people! Mikaela was all alone out there, it would be irresponsible of me to leave him."

Shinya laughs, "I guess he does listen to your scoldings. Come on Guren," he wheedles. "He didn't even attack me for trying to touch him. I'm sure it'll be fine and Yuu's lonely."

"Well if he had social skills, maybe other kids would play with him."

"Here's his chance to get them. Let him stay."

Guren glares at all three of them before pointing a finger at Mikaela, "If you hurt him, there'll be hell to pay, I don't care how old or what you are. One wrong step and you're gone." He turns his nose up without responding, much to Guren's annoyance.

"I think they'll get along well."

"Yes!" Yuu exclaims. "Come on, we can play in my room!"

It's a few minutes later after Yuu has finally gotten Mikaela out of the corner and sitting with him in his beanbags that Shinya brings in his hot cider. He glances over at Mikaela curiously before squatting down next to them. "Mikaela, do you know where your...family is?"

"No."

"Do you know how you got here?" A shrug.

"Sorry Shinya, he doesn't talk much, well unless you're me that is." He grins at the sour look Mikaela shoots him.

Shinya sighs, standing up and giving them a once over. "Well, if you remember anything or you need something, let us know. Yuu never hesitates to."

Yuu sticks his tongue out and waits until Shinya leaves to look over at his new roommate, "How long were you out there?"

"I don't know, a while."

"Are you sure you're not thirsty?" Yuu watches Mikaela shake his head, but there's no way he could have stayed out there for that long and not become thirsty. He's heard that thirsty vampires can randomly attack and that's the last thing he wants from his new playmate plus Guren would be really angry that he broke his promise. "Okay, well, I have a lot of blood, so just take a little, please?" Yuu waves his arm in front of Mikaela's face and sees his pupils widen slightly.

"I'm okay."

"Did you drink animal blood out there?"

"No way!"

"So you drink human blood?"

"Yeah, but I don't drink from people. Krul gives me blood."

"Krul?"

"She's like my vampire mother. She turned me when I was a baby and kept me."

"Sooo….you grow?"

"For now."

Yuu stares at him, "When will you stop?"

"When I drink her blood again and stop aging."

"That's weird."

"So are humans."

"Anyway," Yuu shakes off the weirdness. "This is the last time I'll offer, you'll feel bad if I pass out from having too much blood and you're stuck with Guren."

"I'm not really thirsty..."

"Then only take a little." Mikaela hesitates. "Oh no...I think I'm dying!" Yuu says dramatically falling backwards, "I feel my blood drowning me."

"That's not possible."

"Better safe than sorry, right?"

Mikaela looks him over before slowly lowering his mouth to Yuu's arm and biting down, watching him the entire time. It stings and feels even stranger when he actually begins to drink, but he pulls back after only two swallows. "See, I told you I wasn't really thirsty."

Yuu still doesn't believe him, but he's satisfied that Mikaela at least drank something, Shinya would never let him go without food. "And now I won't die from too much blood," he adds in satisfaction.

~~~~~  
Mikaela turns out to be the best playmate once Yuu gets him out of his shell. He's not turned off by his aggressiveness or boundless energy, even if he's accidentally too rough sometimes, Mikaela's strong enough that it doesn't bother him and even Guren's appreciative of how well his blonde playmate keeps him occupied. They play from dawn to dusk and Yuu couldn't be happier to have someone that fits with his personality so well.

Although at times like this...he could do without Mikaela's stubbornness.

"Mikaela, I'm not going to be the princess. You are."

He gazes back at him blankly. "But, I'm stronger than you."

"So what!" Yuu explodes, "You look like a girl and you have a girly name!"

Mikaela rolls his eyes, long since used to Yuu's comments by now, "This was your idea, I didn't even want to put on a show for them."

"Yeah, but I wanted to be the hero," Yuu whines.

"Hmm….if I'm the hero, I'll let you touch my hair."

He brightens, "Seriously?!"

"Once."

"What?! Only once! That's totally unfair for my humiliation!"

Mikaela stands firm and folds his arms, "That's the deal."

"Fiiiine."

Mika gives him a triumphant smirk, "Which one did you want to do?"

"Rapunzel," he mutters.

"You don't have blonde hair," Mika taunts.

"I know that! You were supposed to be the princess! I was gonna save you!"

"I can save myself."

Yuu gives him a dour look before tossing the book at him, "Just hurry up and decide what you're going to do."

"I know the story, you look sad, I kill the witch and save you, the end."

"Then let's get it over with, I don't even want to do this anymore," he mumbles as he leaves the room.

Ten minutes later they have everything set up, a bar stool covered in a sheet for the tower, a smaller chair next to it for Yuu, wearing one of Guren's large shirts, to stand on, and an umbrella made to look like a witch.

Yuu takes his place behind the bar stool and says in a monotone voice, "I'm so sad, will someone please save me."

"Yuu! That's not sad, you have to cry and wail!"

"If you know so much, you come be the princess!"

"If you don't do it right, I won't rescue you!"

"The witch is coming, kill her!"

Mikaela gives him an annoyed look before attacking the umbrella in a rage, screaming and shaking it so hard all the clothes they put on it fly off while Yuu looks on in awe. He's impressed with how into it he is.

Yuu glances up when he hears Shinya choking on laughter, though he's trying to hide it in Guren's shoulder. "Shinya! It's not supposed to be funny!"

"I know, I'm sorry, continue," he laughs out.

Yuu watches the blonde male throw the umbrella to the floor and smirks, it's almost his part. "I defeated the witch, Yuu-chan!" Yuu's smirk immediately changes to a frown.

"What did you just call me?!"

"Would you prefer Yuuhime?"

"No! I would prefer someone better to rescue me now."

Mikaela turns to him with a scowl, "You can die in that tower."

"Look, she lives!" Yuu points in excitement. "Just joking," he says when Mikaela looks over towards the umbrella. Yuu climbs up to the tower stool and launches himself at Mikaela with a cry of 'My hero!' before the other has a chance to dodge, taking him to the ground and burying his face in the blonde hair.

"Yuu-chan! What are you doing?! Get off me!"

"Nope! I'm getting my reward! Remember?"

"Ugh, yes, but you didn't have to jump on me! You're hurting my back!"

Yuu takes a deep inhale, pushing his nose farther into his hair and grabbing an ear in each hand, "You'll heal."

Mikaela jerks beneath him, "Let go! This wasn't part of the deal!"

"That was..um..an interesting show," Shinya comments. "Although, I don't think the princess is supposed to torment the prince at the end."

"Don't lie, Shinya. It was terrible. Yuu can't act to save his life."

"Don't say that, Guren. I'm sure they both put their very best effort into it. Mikaela just didn't realize he was actually supposed to catch Yuu."

"Nor did it occur to Yuu, that if Mikaela dodged, he would've nosedived into the carpet."

"Mikaela wouldn't let me fall," Yuu mumbles out.

"I wish you had fallen, leave my ears alone!"

"Nuh uh, they're so small and pointy!"

"Okay brat, that's enough," Guren says, lifting him off. "Mikaela looks like he's a second away from snapping."

"Mikaela wouldn't hurt me, would you?" A disinterested look and a slow shrug is his only response. "Huh, then I guess you can't sleep in my room anymore, I don't feel safe. Guren would let you sleep on the couch I bet."

"No! I wouldn't hurt you!" He yells in a panic.

"I know," Yuu responds with a self satisfied smile.

~~~~~  
It hasn't been more than a few days since their disaster of a play when Yuu starts to notice that Mikaela seems a bit slower and grouchier too, refusing to leave Yuu's bed or play with him. He suspects he knows the problem, Mikaela's showing all the typical signs of being hangry. Yuu climbs onto the bed next to him and shoves him over. "You're thirsty."

"I'm not."

"Mikaela, if you eat me in my sleep, Guren's going to be very angry. I don't want him to hurt you."

He peers up at Yuu, "I don't want to drink blood from someone I know, it's weird."

"What would be weirder is if I came back in here one day and you were dead, I'd never be able to sleep in here again."

"..."

"If you drink now, I won't bother you about it again."

"Promise?"

Yuu crosses his fingers behind his back, "Promise."

Mikaela sits up and Yuu holds his arm up, but he shakes his head, "...Your leg."

"My leg?"

"There's more blood there."

"So you are hungry, you should've said so!"

"...Just a little."

Yuu sighs, "Go ahead." He flinches when he feels fangs slide into his thigh and lowers his hand to Mikaela's head, fingers carding through the strands as he ignores the low sound of annoyance the other boy makes. He's drinking a lot more and a lot faster this time, he's probably been starving himself. Yuu shakes his head, he has no idea what Mikaela's problem is, he already drinks human blood, so why does he resist drinking from him. Does blood from someone you know make that big of a difference?

He pulls back abruptly after licking the excess blood away, "Don't touch me, I'm not a dog."

"Be nicer, I just fed you."

His face turns red and he abruptly shoves Yuu off the bed, "Take your stupid blood back, I don't want it or need it!"

"Okay, then spit it back out!" Yuu demands from the floor.

"That's disgusting!"

"Yeah and you need it!"

Yuu watches Mikaela glower down at him before turning away and they call me stubborn, he thinks.

~~~~~  
Days pass and despite their many arguments, Mikaela does actually warm up to him, he didn't even protest too much when Yuu decided to shorten his name to Mika. After all, if he had to endure 'chan' then he should be able to use a nickname too. He still doesn't talk to Guren much, preferring Shinya's company the few times he's away from Yuu. Now that the weather's warmer, they're able to play outside much longer and he can tell Guren's happy about that. Yuu was surprised to find that Mika's actually surprisingly gentle when he wants to be, a skill that he, himself, has yet to master.

Mika's curled up against his side under the shade of a tree, quietly listening to Yuu practice his reading when Shinya and Guren come to find them, dispelling the peaceful atmosphere of contentedness with their unwanted announcement.

"Yuu, Shinoa is coming over to play and she's bringing her friend Mitsuba with her."

"What?" Yuu drops his book, "she always picks on me, I don't want her to come here!"

"I don't either," Mika adds in.

"Mikaela, you don't even know her," Shinya says in exasperation.

"If Yuu-chan doesn't like her, she must be bad."

Guren rolls his eyes heavenward, "Sometimes I swear you're like Yuu's shadow and we have more than enough brattiness around here already."

"I'm my own person, I just trust Yuu-chan."

"Really?" Guren raises an eyebrow, "Or maybe you just don't want another kid around. I notice things."

Mika's face flushes and Yuu watches him dash off in confusion.

"Oooo, looks like someone's jealous already. Better be careful Yuu, I bet Mikaela's the possessive type."

"Huh?" Yuu stares at Shinya blankly.

"Nevermind," Guren interrupts, "Just be prepared. They'll be over tomorrow."

Adults are weird, Yuu thinks, heading off to find Mika.

~~~~~  
Like clockwork, the girls arrive the next morning, but Yuu's prepared. He and Mika spent a long time thinking of a prank to play on Shinoa, so she could finally get a taste of her own medicine. Shinoa's always obnoxiously curious and she can't help but get into things, in this case a box sitting in the middle of the playroom floor with 'Yuu's box Don't touch!' messily scrawled across it.

Putting 'don't touch' is a surefire way to make sure she opens it. He and Mika are crammed together in the closest, peering through the crack when the girls arrive. Yuu snickers and Mika covers his mouth, nudging him aside which results in a brief quiet scuffle that's thankfully masked by the TV.

"Yuu? Where is he? I want to see the vampire and his fangs!"

"I don't know, Guren said they were in here. I don't mind if they're not here, vampires are scary," Mitsuba responds, clenching an envelope in her hands.

"Really? You wrote your letter so carefully too."

"It doesn't do any good if I'm dead, Shinoa."

"Mitsu, stop being so scared all the time," Shinoa exclaims reaching for the box flaps. "If he was dangerous, Guren wouldn't let him stay here."

"That's Yuu's box, he's going to be mad if you touch it."

"He'll never know."

Mitsuba comes to stand next to Shinoa as she leans down to lift the lid which means she's hit too when everything in the box shoots out. She stares in shock at Shinoa who has identical red gunk dripping down her face and hair. "I knew that was a bad idea!"

Shinoa calmly wipes the mess off her face though Yuu can tell she's shaking. He feels a bit guilty about it, but Shinoa never listens to anything he says! When he complained to Mika about it, the other boy immediately came up with a plan to teach her a lesson. If the girls actually got hurt, he'd be punished, so they chose something harmless. Just a bit of fake blood, maybe now Shinoa would learn to stay out of other people's stuff and Mitsuba would stop listening to her!

"Yuu, come out right now! I can hear you laughing!"

Yuu stumbles out of the closet hiding a smile with Mikaela behind him. "Yeah Shinoa?"

Her eyes flick to Mikaela, then back to him. "Did you do this?" She questions gesturing to her red covered body.

"Nope, you opened it. It said not to."

She glares at him and her eyes go back to Mika. "It's the vampire."

"His name is Mikaela."

"Let me see your fangs!"

"I'm not going to listen to you, human."

"Come on, let me see them!" She advances towards him and he backs up right before she lunges towards him and he dashes away with Shinoa in pursuit.

Yuu laughs at the sight of Shinoa covered in fake blood chasing after an annoyed vampire, guess he isn't the only one Shinoa picks on after all. He knows how temperamental Mika can be sometimes and if it wasn't for the firm talk they got beforehand about control, mostly directed towards the vampire, he has no doubt Shinoa would be crying by now. After all, Mika is how he is and he wouldn't ever have been nice to someone he didn't like or didn't want around.

"It's not funny, Yuu!" Mitsuba yells, "You ruined my clothes!"

"You and Shinoa broke my toy last time."

"That was an accident!"

"But, I said not to mess with it! You guys never listen."

"...Stop being so mean! I just came over today because I wanted to give you my letter," Mitsuba huffs, holding out an envelope.

"Her loooove letter," Shinoa adds with a wiggle of her eyebrows from where she's almost cornered Mika. "Mitsuba wants so spend more time with you, she couldn't wait to come over today."

Yuu barely makes out a flash of blonde from the corner of his eye before the letter has been ripped from Mitsuba's hand and is being torn into little pieces by an angry looking Mika.

Mitsuba face morphs first into shock then anger as she bursts into tears accompanied by loud cries.

"What's going on?" Shinya asks, running in the room and trying to console Mitsuba. "Are you hurt? What's this on your clothes?" He pulls his hand away in disgust.

"Mikaela...tore up my letter," she blubbers out. "I worked really hard on it!"

Shinya gives Mikaela a firm look, "Is that true?"

"Yes," he replies, not looking repentant at all.

"Mikaela that wasn't very nice, you should apologize to her."

"No!" Shinya blinks in surprise at the emphatic refusal. "She's not allowed to give him love letters, Yuu-chan is my human!" Yuu suddenly finds himself in Mika's arms, being held fiercely against his side. By now, the closeness is nothing new, but nearly being squeezed to death is.

"Mikaela!"

"I won't do it!"

"Then you can sit alone until you change your mind."

"You can't make me!" And just as fast as Mika grabbed him, he lets go and runs out of the house.

"Mika wait! Don't leave!" Yuu hurries after him, he wouldn't be surprised if Mika chose to be alone rather than do something he doesn't want to do and he's not ready to lose his best friend yet.

"Yuuichirou, get back here!"

Ignoring Shinya, he races towards the forest. Mika could have gone anywhere out here, but Yuu has a feeling the first place he would go is near the forest where it's familiar. He's not disappointed when he finds Mika sitting against a tree just inside the tree line.

"Mika?" Hunched shoulders are his only reply. Yuu takes a seat and scoots next to him, "Are you okay?" A head shake. "Do you want me to leave?"

"No!" Mika throws himself in Yuu's arms, squeezing him tight. "Stay with me!"

Yuu sighs and leans his head against Mika's. "I don't really get why you're upset...but, you really should apologize to Mitsuba. Shinya says you shouldn't do things you don't want people to do to you and if someone ripped up your letter, you'd be sad too."

"No, I'd be angry and then I'd rip their head off."

The bad thing is Mika's probably serious. "Well, if you couldn't do that, you'd be sad."

"Then I'd cut their arm off and beat them with it."

"You're...really violent." Sometimes he forgets Mika was raised by vampires, that he is a vampire, and violence like that might be normal for them. He shudders at the thought of just how much strength Mika's been holding back with him. "But, still...can you, for me?"

"...If you promise to be my bride."

Yuu turns a mild shade of pink, "Mika, I can't do that, I'm not a girl!"

"Hmm, then how about my inamorato?"

"What's that mean?"

"It's kind of the same thing except a boy, but it still means you're mine and you can't accept love letters from other people or let another vampire drink from you."

"Of course I wouldn't let vampires drink from me! That's a given!"

"And love letters?" Mika prompts.

He rolls his eyes, "I won't accept gross love letters either."

Mika nods in satisfaction, "Okay, I'll apologize to her."

Yuu trails behind Mika as the vampire leads them towards to the house, he seems a lot happier now, even picking a few flowers on the way back. Mika stops in front of a still slightly teary eyed Mitsuba, holding out the flowers. "Here are flowers for you. I apologize for ripping your love letter, but it would be disloyal of Yuu-chan to accept it since he's my bride."

They all do a second take and Yuu can feel his ears burning.

"He's what?" Guren questions in shock.

"My bride!"

"Really?" Shinya laughs freely, "That's an interesting development."

"Yes really, we're having our wedding right now. You can watch if you're quiet." He turns to Yuu, "Yuu-chan, I'm sorry I don't have a ring right now, but will you still accept me?"

Yuu squints at him, sometimes he has to wonder if Mika really is his age or a lot older, because it's starting to feel like the latter. "Uh...Mika?" He didn't mention this at all when they were in the forest.

"I did rescue you from the tower after all."

"That was fake!"

"I would rescue you if I had the chance, even if you are a human."

"Gee thanks Mika," Yuu responds sarcastically.

"Because you're my human."

"Enough," Guren interrupts, "no one is getting married today."

"Oh let them Guren. It can't hurt, plus this ought to be entertaining. Do you need anything, Mikaela?"

"Nope, just Yuu-chan, since I'm sure he won't wear a dress." He gives Mistuba and Shinoa a firm look, "No talking and no crying." Much to Yuu's surprise, they both nod. He can never get Shinoa to shut up when he wants her to. "Come here, Yuu-chan," Mika gestures him to the center of the living room floor.

"Wait!" Shinoa yells before dashing down the hall, returning shortly with a pillowcase that she eagerly pins to Yuu's hair much to his annoyance. "If he won't wear a dress, he should at least wear a veil. You have to least do this right, Yuu."

"This is ridiculous," Yuu hears Guren mutter as he takes a seat next to Shinya on the couch, the girls, who are now fortunately clean, settling down on either side of them to watch.

"Ugh," he shuffles over to Mika, "Do we have to do this?"

"Yes, you agreed."

"Not to this! I-"

"Yuu-chan," Mika cuts him off and leans in closer, taking his hands much to Yuu's embarrassment. "I want you to be mine forever, even when I have to leave. When I'm back home, I'll think of you fondly until I can come back to see you. And I'll be loyal always and I won't accept love letters unless they're from you. I promise myself to you. Your turn."

By the end of Mika's speech, Yuu's face is burning. He can hear Shinya and Shinoa snickering and Guren mumbling under his breath. Even Mitsuba doesn't help, watching them wide eyes. What's he even supposed to say right now? "Mika...this is really embarrassing. I don't know what to say."

"Say what you feel."

"Embarrassed." Blue eyes give him a meaningful look. He's never going to get out of this if he doesn't say something. "Um.." His eyes flick back to Mika's, how did he never notice just how amazingly blue the other's eyes are. Bluer than the sky, if that makes sense and the way they're staring at him gives him butterflies in his stomach and he has to look away, suddenly overcome with nerves.

"Yuu-chan," Mika prods.

"Okay, okay, um, you're my best friend and really fun to play with when you're not being sulky. You have really nice hair and I won't forget you either when you go back home. I'll miss you."

"Oh. My. God."

"Guren shush!" Shinya hisses, "Yuu's finally opening up."

"And even though you're giving me butterflies, I guess I don't mind being married to you. But when you come back, bring candy or I might change my mind!" Yuu finishes in a hurry.

"Now kiss!"

"What? No way Shinoa!"

Fortunately Mika spares him from the embarrassment of a kiss, choosing to encompass him in a hug instead and he breathes a sigh of relief.

"Come on guys," Shinya stays standing from the couch and lifting Mitsuba off him, "Let's have some cake. I was saving it for dessert, but a wedding is a much better occasion."

"Why do you have to encourage them?" Guren complains.

"They're kids, let them imagine while they can."

"Cake!" Yuu pries himself out of Mika's hold with great effort and dashes off to the kitchen. He considers it a blessing that Mika opts to stay in the living room to watch TV, he's not sure he could enjoy his cake if he got butterflies again. Where did those come from anyway?

~~~~~  
Things get a little weird after that and Yuu finds himself becoming a bit more aware of Mikaela. He can't lie, his newfound awareness does make him a bit antsy at times. He'd ask Shinya why he feels strange around Mika sometimes now, but he'd have to admit it and he doesn't want to do that.

He does however find himself more fascinated by Mikaela than before and appreciative of the close distance Mika keeps himself. He doesn't even mind when the other clings to him in his sleep, though more often than not, come morning Mika has shoved a pillow between them to keep Yuu from drooling on him.

But the biggest change is when Mikaela drinks from him, he's come to both hate it and love it. He's happy that Mika's more willing to drink now, but about the feelings that come with it? Not so much.

"Yuu-chan?"

"What?"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I thought you were thirsty."

"I am...a little, but you're really tense. I don't have to."

"I'm just sleepy."

"Okay, I'll wait until tomorrow."

"No!" He doesn't want to put this off any longer than necessary. "It hurts less when I'm sleepy."

Mika scoots back, "I don't want to hurt you at all."

He mentally kicks himself, "No, it's fine. Come here, Mika," he says, holding out his arms. Mika reluctantly comes closer, allowing Yuu to pull him into a hug and guide his head into the crook of his neck, another recent development. After their 'wedding,' Mika said he'd prefer to drink from Yuu's neck and he didn't care, it didn't matter to him where Mika drank from. If only he'd known…

"Are you sure?" His muffled voice questions.

"Mmhm." Yuu braces himself when he feels Mika's breath on his neck right before fangs pierce his skin and he feels Mika adjust to get more comfortable. He slides fingers through blonde hair until he touches the point of an ear, a recent permission he's been granted. Weirdly enough, even though Mika protested being touched so much in the beginning, he seems to really enjoy it.

Yuu reaches over and strokes his finger gently along an ear and Mika's pressed so close to him that he can feel when his eyes close by the sweep of eyelashes along his neck as Mika exhales slowly, looping his arms over Yuu's shoulders and shifting yet closer. Yuu sighs in pleasure and winds his arm around Mika's waist to balance him as he continues the gentle touches on the other's ear and Mika makes a pleased sound from his place on Yuu's neck that reinforces the fact that his touches are no longer unwelcome.

It's a very good thing Mikaela's not opposed to his touches anymore because he feels the urge to reach out towards the other boy more and more lately. For the most part, he fights it, but at times like now, he can't help but give in.

He enjoys the feeling of his companion being so close to him and this time between the two of them is like their own little secret. But, it also feels really really good and makes him so nervous he can barely look Mikaela in the eye when he finishes drinking. He's not sure if he should feel so much pleasure from this and he's unsure how to act about it since he always feels weird afterwards, that's the part he hates. All the confusion and different emotions he doesn't yet have a name for.

Mika pulls back when he finishes and Yuu's not quite ready to face him again, but he's already looking at him with concern in those big cerulean eyes, bright and vibrant from his feeding and Yuu feels the butterflies come back again. "What's wrong, Yuu-chan?"

"Nothing," he mutters, looking away. He can't be the only one who feels weird, can he?

He reaches out to grab Yuu's face and his strength makes it impossible for Yuu to escape Mika's hold. "You've been weird, is it because you don't want to be married to me anymore?" He questions guardedly, the sides of his mouth turning down into a pout.

"Nah, it's not that. I told you I'm just sleepy." Mika doesn't look convinced, so he quickly changes the subject. "That stuff you said...on the day we got married, where did you learn it?"

Mika lets go and leans back to Yuu's relief, "My uncle. He says things like that to his friend Crowley sometimes. He also makes me watch human movies with him, his favorites are those kind. He said one day I might need to know those things for someone. "

That makes sense, Yuu thinks. He never sticks around when Guren and Shinya put in boring movies like that, cartoons and action movies are much better. How old is your uncle?"

"I don't know, really old. He doesn't act like it though."

"You spend a lot of time with him?"

"Not that much, but there's not a lot to do in Sanguinem."

"You don't play with the other kids?"

"I'm the only one my age. So anyone I talk to is going to be way older. It's not much fun."

Now he gets why Mika has those adult characteristics sometimes, that's all he's ever been around. "You should just live here with us."

"I don't think Krul would allow that."

"That sucks."

"Yeah." They lapse into silence and now that he's successfully changed the subject, Mika shouldn't be worried anymore and will give him some space, but just in case...he quickly yanks his covers back and climbs under. "Yuu-chan, what are you doing?"

"I'm going to sleep."

"You never go to bed this early."

"I'm tired," he responds, turning his head so Mika can't see the lie on his face. He moves over slightly when Mika slips under the covers next to him and he feels the familiar weight of the other boy's head on his shoulder.

"Hey Yuu-chan?"

"Hmm?"

"Why don't you have other friends?"

"What do you mean?"

"Guren said if you were nicer, other kids would play with you."

"Oh. I guess I play too rough for girls and Guren says I don't think before I talk, so I upset people. But all those other kids are jerks too! And the boys just pick on each other and play games I don't want to play. None of them like me much because I never agree with them and we argue a lot. Plus they said some mean things about before I lived with Guren and I got in a lot of fights with them." He shrugs and his voice gets quieter, "It's just easier to play alone."

Mika reaches over to squeeze his hand, but says nothing and he's grateful. He's long since gotten used to be playing alone, but bringing it up reminds him of the fact that Mika can't stay here forever. After having him here to play with everyday, it'll be harder to play alone all the time. He hunches his shoulders and blinks rapidly to keep the tears in. Mika leaving is something he tries hard not to think about.

He's gotten so used to his best friend's presence that he can't imagine not having him around anymore. The house will feel so empty, you can't have plays or build forts alone. As unlikely as it is, he selfishly hopes Mika's family will leave him here forever. Yuu turns over to face Mika and stares at him through blurry eyes, "You better not forget my candy."

"Of course not, I-" He's cut off when Yuu grabs him into a tight hug, he doesn't want to think about the future anymore.

~~~~~  
Yuu wakes the next morning and immediately panics that Mikaela's left him when he realizes his bed is empty, he's halfway to the living room with Guren's name on the tip of his tongue ready to be released in a yell when he hears Mika talking to Shinya the kitchen.

"Good morning Yuu. Up a little late, aren't you?"

He doesn't want to mention he had trouble sleeping, thinking about what would happen when Mika left, so he turns to the other boy instead, "Why'd you leave? You usually wait for me!"

"Is that why you look so grumpy?"

"I thought you'd gone home," he mutters in petulance.

"I wouldn't do that, Yuu-chan. I was helping Shinya make breakfast for you."

"Whatever," Yuu hops into a chair and rests his head on the table, only sitting up when Shinya puts a plate in front of him.

Mika comes to sit next to him and pats his head, but doesn't say anything. He's pretty sure Mika knows what's wrong after their conversation last night, but he's being considerate enough not to mention it. He wonders if Mika even cares about leaving half as much as he does.

~~~~~  
Eventually Yuu finds himself able to relax again, the seasons change into summer, no one comes to find Mikaela, and Yuu slowly pushes those thoughts to the back of his head, enjoying the time he has with Mika without wondering if tomorrow will be the day he wakes up and he's gone.

"Yuu?"

"Yeah?" He looks up from the chalk outline of Mika he's doing.

"Can you both come in for a minute?"

"Why?"

"Just come in, Yuu!"

He cocks his head curiously at the irritation in Guren's voice, he looks kind of weird, almost as if he's nervous. "Fine."

Yuu reaches down a hand to pull Mika up and he interlocks their fingers as they follow Guren into the house. He doesn't even get a chance to register the strangers in the living room before Mika drops his hand with a scream of 'Krul' and throws himself at a pink haired girl. This must be Mika's family, they've finally found him. Watching them together makes his stomach drop and he slowly begins backing out the room until Guren grabs his shoulder and refuses to let him go no matter how hard he tries to jerk himself free.

"And who's this little cutie?" Yuu looks up to see the vampire with a long silver ponytail and crimson eyes watching him with a smirk.

"I'm not a cutie! Don't talk to me, I can't talk to strangers!"

"Yuu!" Guren reprimands him sharply.

"It's quite alright. I'm used to impetuous children. Mikaela is my nephew after all."

So that's his uncle, he does look like the type to teach Mika weird things. Yuu frowns harder, wishing they would both leave, so he and Mka could go back to their chalk.

"Mikaela, we've been looking all over for you. Why didn't you tell someone you were lost or try to find us?

"I don't know," he glances back at Yuu.

She follows his gaze, "I see." He watches the girl look over to Mika's uncle who's still smirking then back to Mika, "Are you thirsty?"

"No."

"After this entire time, you're not thirsty at all?"

"No!"

Her gaze comes back to Yuu and roams over his body, settling on his neck. "Just what have you been up to Mikaela. Yuu, right? You're the one who has been taking care of him?"

"I can take care of myself!" Mika interrupts, but she quickly shushes him.

"Yeah, I guess."

"I'm Krul, Mika's guardian. Thank you for watching out for him, I know he can be impulsive sometimes."

Yuu looks away and Shinya answers instead, "It was fine, Yuu's just as impulsive, they got along great."

"Still, I apologize for the imposition." So, that's where Mika gets his way of speaking from. He desperately hopes Shinya doesn't mention the wedding.

"It was none at all, Yuu loved having a friend around all the time." Yuu breathes a sigh of relief.

"Krul! I still have to see Yuu-chan sometimes!"

"And why is that?"

"Because I married him!"

She raises and eyebrow, then glances at Guren. "Is that so? He should come visit us sometime."

Guren clears his throat, "Maybe…" There's no way Guren will ever let him go with vampires and it doesn't seem like Krul is in any hurry to bring Mika back here either. Yuu's fists clench in anger, he hates being a kid.

He doesn't realize just how upset he is until Mikaela's pushing him out of the living room and into his bedroom. "Don't cry, Yuu-chan."

"I'm not. I won't even miss you!"

Mikaela pulls him into a hug anyway, "That's okay. I'll still miss you. Just don't forget me."

He nods, it isn't fair though. The only friend he has is leaving and he can't do anything about it. They stay like that until it's time for the vampires to leave and Shinya comes to get them.

~~~~  
Yuu has a hollow feeling in his heart as he watches Mika walk away hand in hand with Krul. Somehow he doubts he'll see him again after this. As if Mika can sense his distress, he glances back and his gaze locks with Yuu's. There must be something despondent in his expression because Mika frowns, then he's suddenly running back over to grab Yuu's face in his hands.

"Don't be sad. I'll come back." Mika leans forward to press his lips to Yuu's and he freezes in surprise. It's not unpleasant, in fact it's soft and warm, just unexpected. Mika pulls back to look at him curiously and seems on the edge of kissing him again when Krul calls him. "Bye Yuu-chan," he says before speeding back to Krul's side.

He doesn't even realize he's touching his mouth as Mika disappears until Shinya nudges him. "I take it you enjoyed that kiss," he laughs.

"What? No!" He snatches his fingers from his mouth, "I was just surprised."

"Right," Shinya says in a very unconvinced voice with a ruffle to Yuu's hair. He shakes his head free and opens his mouth to argue, but Guren lifts him up onto his shoulders before he can.

"What are we going to do with you now? You're going to be lonely."

"I'm not," but he can already feel the slight burn in his nose from the beginning of tears.

"It's okay, Yuu," Shinya says gently.

"I'm fine!" He yells even as his voice cracks on the last syllable.

Shinya nods and looks away while Guren pats his leg soothingly as tears drop relentlessly into his hair.

* * *

Thank you for reading! - *review*


End file.
